February 2007
  The newly upholstered cushions arrived - very nice.

March 2007
  Visited Cigano for a checkup and to drop off the reupholstered cushions. They look great.

April 2007
  Starting on the second weekend in April, I was onboard on the hard, working every weekend. Working conditions under the canvass cover far surpass working outside. Some flaking bottom paint will require touch up. There is a heavy coat of paint but apparently a proper bond did not occur. Paint touch up was easy, but stirring the paint by hand was nearly impossible and took almost an hour. I will use mechanical means next time.  -DN

May 2007
  We splashed on the first weekend in May, launching our second season aboard Cigano. Spring in northern Wisconsin can bring weather surprises and it did. Early one morning Janet woke up everyone aboard so we could witness the heavy snow falling on the decks and docks of our marina. We were one of just a handful of boats in the water. It was cold and miserable, but working on the boat is so much easier in the water with one easy step from the floating dock vs. on the stands with a ten foot climb from the ground. Guests are stopping by nearly every weekend, Liz and Jake, Alex and Beth, Janet's sister and brother-in law Lorraine & Dave, but we rarely leave the harbor to face the cold lake. Meanwhile winches are cleaned and rebuilt, maintenance is performed on bilge pumps, engine, galley sinks, plumbing, electrical systems, etc. Sails and electronics repaired, hot meals are made and hot toddies are drunk.
And finally . . .

June 2007
  Some warm air blew in from somewhere deep in the south and the sailing began. More guests, but now we venture out on the waters of Lake Superior and resume last season's anchoring out. We avoid taking first-time sailing guests on overnight trips for obvious reasons, but the sail-seasoned family and friends usually expect and get treated to at least one overnight anchorage. Plans begin taking shape for a vacation trip to Isle Royale late July into August. Our June guests include Liz and Jake, Alex and Beth. Jake's parents Bob & Pat, Lorraine & Dave, and others, a busy June indeed. On June 23 we join the Matthews family along with a flotilla of a dozen or so other boats to raft-up off Romans Point and hold a ceremony in memory of our dear friend and sailor Steve Matthews who died this winter from a sudden a heart attack at age 46. It was a sad but grand event on a beautiful day and Steve would have had great humorous words to all if he could have spoken.

July 2007
  Some repairs are made between sailing trips and a failed attempt to repair the radar and suddenly the Isle Royale trip is upon us. We'll do it sans radar although it would be nice to have. Isle Royale's passages and harbor entrances are often strewn with solid granite pinnacles that rise from the depths and hover just above or below the surface and with the frequent fog sometimes radar is your only vision.
Isle Royale - We cast off mid-day on the third Saturday of July and as would be expected, what little wind there was hit directly on the nose. We motored nearly the entire trip, happy for our miserly and dependable little Yanmar. Fifty three degrees, magnetic for 18 hours. It was an uneventful but very cold crossing. We wore our foulies with all our insulative layers beneath but were still cold. Twenty hours after departure, having been guided in early in the morning by the famous Rock of Ages Light we dropped the hook deep inside Washington Harbor at the south east end of Isle Royale. Almost exactly 100 nautical miles from our harbor entrance.
  Washington Harbor is the logical and most common port of arrival and departure for those sailing to and from the west end of the lake. We were eager to explore but in need of a nap. You can sleep when you're old as they say, so cocktails were broken out, a toast was made, we thawed out, and the dinghy was inflated and launched. A dinghy is essential here, not just for exploration but because no gray water can be discharged. It can, however, be ferried ashore and dumped far away from the water's edge. We spent the night anchored by Beaver Island in Washington Harbor then left the next morning heading counterclockwise around the island toward Siskiwit Bay and Malone Bay.
  By the time we arrived at the Malone Bay ranger station dock, heavy fog was settling in. Fully rested now, we did some exploring, hiking, bathing in the nearby creek's whirlpool, and just dawdled until it was too dark to move to Malone Island, our planned anchorage for the night. We prefer not to overnight at docks due to past experience. We enjoyed the company of the crew on Jolly Roger, also at the dock. When we awoke the next morning we could hardly see the end of the dock, let alone Malone Island. We knew we could find the Island in the fog, but we could not see whether there was one boat or five at the anchorage and there is limited space so we waited for a glimpse. We were finally able to see the anchorage after noon and made the move, sharing the space with 2 other boats. The drifting fog banks made our exploratory row around Malone Island eerie and mystical.
  From Malone Bay we headed for Chippewa Harbor. The approach is tricky and hard to see under good conditions. We had solid fog with less than 100 yards visibility and our radar was not working. We inched our way in using the GPS. Although GPS is a very precise navigation tool in most cases, we have discovered that on Isle Royale, it can be off as much as 200 yards, a larger error than our visibility allows. We hit the harbor opening perfectly and were deep in the entrance before we could see land surrounding us on 3 sides, although the GPS showed us far enough on shore to be parked 80 feet up on the rock wall. Once inside, the fog cleared and we anchored in the east end of the inner harbor, a very quiet and secluded spot. We consider it the best spot in the harbor. We hung the outboard on the dinghy and grabbed some snacks and headed out to do some exploring and hiking. Only two other boats in this end of the harbor. We ran into our new friends on Jolly Roger anchored at the far west end. They we having great success fishing and offered us a fish which they caught later and even cleaned for us. Fresh grilled lake trout is one of Lake Superior's finest treats. We hiked to Lake Whittlesey. By day-two the fog cleared so we motored the dinghy out to the entrance to see what it looked like - without the fog. We were now the only boat in the entire inner harbor and there was only one in the outer harbor tied to the dock. Considering that Chippewa Harbor is one of the most popular haunts, and late July and early August are typically the busiest times here, we assumed that the current high price of fuel and the low water on Lake Superior weighed heavily on cruisers enthusiasm to visit Isle Royale this summer.
  A fogless third day prompted us to leave despite our solitary anchorage. We sailed and motored our way to Rock Harbor where we waited in line for 3 hours for fuel and a pumpout at the only place to get diesel on the island. There were only 3 boats ahead of us but the staff was juggling duties and the fuel dock was not top priority. Although we probably had an adequate supply of fuel onboard, the narrow passages and the angle of the island to the prevailing winds often preclude sailing, so we suffered through the ordeal for additional peace of mind. The pumpout was malfunctioning and apparently quit about halfway through the job as we later discovered. We decided to have lunch at the cafe while we were there and chatted with the staff made up of young students from around the world.
  Tobin Harbor is a deep bay just a couple hundred yards across a thin finger of land from Rock Harbor, but about 4.5 nm over water. Our destination deep in Tobin Harbor was about 6 nm away. On the way we passed a few cabins on the island which are still held by private individuals. The land is owned by the park service and will revert back at some point. We saw our first moose of the trip and then several more, all swimming. They spend a lot of time in the water trying to fend off overheating in July's high temperatures. Again we were the lone boat in this very tucked away anchorage, far from the open waters of the big lake. We spent the afternoon watching moose from the dinghy and rowing up a long, very shallow mud-banked creek winding its way deeper into the heart of the island. When we discovered that the water was rising and pushing us farther up the creek, we scrambled to get back to the bay, because the only explanation for that condition would be a rising seiche which certainly would not last long and trap us on the bottom, perhaps never to return. The creek was surrounded by marsh only a few hundred yards from our anchorage, so we broke out our cockpit mosquito netting. This was the first time we ever used it and we were able to laugh at the countless little buzzers trying to get in. Later in the evening we discovered several poorly fitting screens and places we needed to tighten-down the screen hatch covers. They got us back!
  Duncan Bay was our next destination and with the low water it was a bit of a nail-biter with solid rocks just a few feet away on either side as we made the zigzag course through the entrance. The "Superior Way" guidebook by Bonnie Dahl was a blessing on this one. It's not something we'd want to attempt with a sea running from the northeast. Once inside there was plenty of water and because of the tight entrance, plenty of protection. Like Tobin Harbor, Duncan Bay is a narrow channel extending deep into the island, but there is a bay off the northwest side about a third of the way in that provides a beautiful, protected, and secluded spot for anchoring. Again, we had an anchorage to ourselves, what a treat! From here exploring the northeast end of the Greenstone Ridge and Lookout Louise is easy - just a dinghy ride across the bay an up the steep trail. When we arrived at the trail base, a group of canoers was just finishing their portage from Tobin Harbor. They were in pain with blisters on their feet and exhausted aching muscles. One of them was strongly advocating paddling their canoes the eight miles around on the return trip facing some big open waters rather than portaging the thousand yards across the peninsula over the top again. The walk to Lookout Louise was spectacular with clear skies. Below we could see Cigano anchored in the bay and off in the distance, Thunder Bay's sleeping giant and the Sibley Peninsula. We enjoyed a feast of wild blueberries on the way back. Duncan Bay was both peaceful and spectacular so we lingered an extra day.
  McCargo Cove was beckoning and the wind was on the nose for the most of the way. The trip there was a bumpy ride with seas building from the southwest with lots of fetch. The entrance to McCargo Cove is a bit tricky and calls for caution, especially in the seas today. But once inside it is nearly two nautical miles long and cuts deep into the interior of Isle Royale at about a 30 degree angle, making it is one of the most secure harbors on the island. Shortly after arrival, we broke out the dinghy and began exploring. Back near the entrance, we chugged into Brady cove and seeing a wolf on shore a hundred yards away we quickly killed the engine. We watched the wolf urinate on the beach, then amble a dozen yards along the shore before heading off into the woods. We felt very privileged for a moment, then noticed another one on the opposite shore. It walked into the water and began swimming across the cove. We were drifting downwind directly toward the wolf as it swam across our path. We drifted to within nearly 50 feet while I broke out the video camera and captured the scene. We were blessed with excellent timing. Ten minutes later and we would have missed the entire event - a rare wolf sighting - and we saw two. While in McCargo Cove we met some Boy Scouts who were on a multi-day hike. Daytime temperatures were near 90 F which is pretty high for this area and the scouts were suffering. Several had given up and headed back. We gave them the last of our treats and enjoyed watching their eyes light up. We thought about offering some rum or scotch to the adult leaders but to set a better example we gave them some special chocolates instead. On day two we hiked up the ridge to Minong Copper Mine which was commercially mined in the late 1800s and prior to that, dug out by hand by local Indians.
  Having towed our dinghy all the way around the island so far uneventfully, we had little concern for the light breeze blowing that was barely cooling us off. But it was only a hint of what we found as we left McCargo Cove bound for Washington Harbor to complete the circumnavigation. During the 26 mile stretch, the wind was blowing strong from the southwest and seas had built considerably. At least we were able to put up the sails, but it was again on the nose. By the time we finally made the turn to tuck in behind Thompson Island into Washington Harbor, our inflatable dinghy in-tow had rolled over at least 7 times. During each starboard tack we had to watch the dinghy and be ready to flip it back upright - a couple of times it did a nose-dive and tried to stay underwater. The trip had taken all day and we were exhausted, happy to drop anchor and have a calm meal and crash. But having now realized that our pumpout at Rock Harbor was incomplete and the holding tank full, we motored down to the park service dock for another try. We got there half an our after closing and had to spend the night tied to the big smelly tar-covered pier. We deflated and lashed the dinghy on deck and prepared for the trip back to our home port.
  When morning came we immediately motored to the pumpout dock and again faced an apparently malfunctioning pumping system. There are only two places to pump-out on Isle Royale and they both were failing us. We headed out, hoping that they at least pulled enough from our holding tank to keep us going for 24 hours. Unfortunately the strong southwest breeze from the prior day had increased as had the seas. We decided to try a run for Grand Marais on the north shore. It was no better so Janet suggested an immediate return to the harbor, but I had to pretend I was tough. After about an hour and a half of bashing into very large, steep seas, we decided we didn't want to face another twelve hours of it. Once we managed the delicately timed turn around, it was about a twenty minute downwind blast sailing back into the harbor, a welcome decision. We allowed plenty of time for weathering in so why suffer.
  Upon leaving the following morning at dawn, all that was left was a smooth swell and a nice breeze that put us on a close hauled course for home. We sailed most of the way - bundled up like Eskimos again - and arrived sometime after midnight, comfortable entering our own harbor in the dark. It was a great two-week trip and the weather was very acceptable by Lake Superior standards.
-D&J

August 2007
  Our Isle Royale trip ended a week or so into August and we actually took a rare weekend off from sailing. Our friends Rick and Joan joined us for a very enjoyable weekend anchored off Oak Island. Dave had a bit of a scare on the return trip. We were using the boom vang clipped to the tip of the midship cleat as a preventer. We were planning to jibe by hauling in the mainsheet on the high side while easing vang, but before we even started the snap shackle on the vang popped loose under the heavy strain of the boom. The boom flew past the top of Dave's (cautiously lowered) head, continued rising, slammed and pinned itself against the backstay, shearing off the SSB antenna wire in the process. THAT is why we keep our heads down! It probably popped loose due to being pried open by the wide tip of the cleat. That was the first time in either of our memories that a snap shackle has opened accidentally. We'll change our method of attachment from now on.
  Next an enjoyable weekend with Alex & Beth. Beth, a National Guard medic will very shortly be deployed to the war in Iraq so we try to give her every opportunity possible to enjoy herself.
  The following weekend Alex and Dave explored Manitou Island where the beach was covered in millions of grasshoppers three inches deep in places.
  Next Liz & Jake joined us for a weekend. A strong westerly was building up and we wanted a peaceful night so we dropped anchor deep in Raspberry Bay for the first time ever with about five other boats. By dark there were nearly 40 boats crowded in the bay and several questionable anchoring tactics wire employed with way too much scope in such crowded conditions. The evening was also very disturbing because of an event occurring in the water between us and shore and on shore as well. Raspberry Bay's shoreline is owned by an Indian tribe and a couple of them made it very clear that they do not welcome all the boating visitors. Had we known about this issue we would not have anchored there. We've anchored on the Apostle Islands for many years and never had an experience like that.
-D&J

September 2007
  Liz & Jake, and Christine and Lars, a couple of experienced sailors, joined us for the last big outing of the season. We handed over the helm and most of the duties to the 4 college youth and had a very relaxing weekend in great sailing breezes.
-D&J
My brother Dan joined me for one more weekend but the weather was unacceptable for sailing so we were harbor-bound.  DN

October 2007
  Haulout time. Having done it once already, installation of the cover was easier as was winterizing, despite the failure of both bilge pumps.

Next year - 2008